


Waterfall

by lilmisslola



Category: If I Had Wings (2013)
Genre: Ableism, Brad is oblivious, Feelings Realization, M/M, Making Out, Mild Language, Other people are not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 04:36:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11246451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilmisslola/pseuds/lilmisslola
Summary: "So, I found this waterfall..."





	Waterfall

**Author's Note:**

> Written from a prompt on tumblr. This is for Kory (korydweninterim). It took me two years but I finally did it!

“So, I found this waterfall…”

It was their second week at athletics camp and the weather was blistering. After a couple hours of track in the morning with the mercury ever climbing, the counsellors had taken pity and freed them until later that afternoon. Brad had left Alex to rest in the cabin and had headed out to explore the wooded area on the eastern side of the lake. Picking his way aimlessly through the undergrowth, the sound of water had led Brad to a clearing and a coursing waterfall flowing into a small, clear pool. The water was refreshingly cool to the touch and he’d contemplated taking a quick dip before he had to be back for the afternoon’s activities but it hadn’t seemed like much fun by himself. Fast forward to him back at the cabin, sat on the edge of his bed.

“A waterfall? Where?” Alex pushed himself up into sitting position, curiosity evident on his face.

“In the trees around the lake,” Brad replied. “You wanna come check it out? If nothing else, it’ll stop the sweat dripping down my ass.”

Alex grinned. “Well, how could I possibly let you endure such torture?” He held a hand out and Brad grabbed hold of it, pulling them both to their feet. He kept their hands joined until they were at the bottom of the cabin steps, his stomach flipping a little when Alex didn’t pull away. Brad frowned at the sensation and moved Alex’s hand to his shoulder.

“You wanna run?” He asked, trying to re-establish some normalcy. Alex agreed and readjusted his grip, rubbing a thumb across the skin of Brad’s shoulder along his tank top, and there was that sensation again. Brad decided to blame it on the heat and set off at a comfortable pace. On the way, they passed a couple of girls he recognised from the previous week. As they passed, the blonde (Jess, he thinks her name is) turned to her friend (Daisy? Maisie?) and whispered something, causing Daisy/Maisie to laugh, watching Brad and Alex pass. He remembered their first meeting a few days prior, in which Jess had told Alex that she thought it was cute he’d come to camp with his boyfriend.

Alex had just laughed, leaving Brad to explain that they weren’t actually a couple, just best friends who spent most waking minutes together. The words had felt awkward in his mouth for some reason and Alex had looked at him with an odd expression. Jess and her friend had left then, shooting glances at the two of them over their shoulders, looking thoroughly unconvinced. If their behaviour today was anything to go by, they were still sceptical.

In his distraction, Brad hadn’t realised that they were practically at the clearing. Alex slowed as the sound of the fall grew louder, tilting his head slightly to take in all the noises. It made Brad smile to see how Alex interacted with the world around him. He led his friend to the water’s edge, instructing him to remove his shoes, as he toed his own off, along with his socks. Brad spotted a rock close to the fall and guided Alex over so they ended up both sat with their feet dangling in the water. Their shoulders bumped as they settled and as Alex shifted slightly, his fingers came to rest ghosting alongside Brad’s, and there was no mistaking the stomach flip this time. Brad cleared his throat, wondering if he should pull away but finding he had absolutely no desire to do so. Alex then huffed a small laugh and Brad’s fingers twitched nervously.

“What?”

“Earlier, while you were out, I heard James and Carter talking about how surprised they were that I was so good at athletics, you know, _considering_ ,” Alex explained. Annoyance spiked in Brad’s chest despite Alex’s nonchalant tone.

“Those dicks!” he ejected and Alex grinned.

“I know, so I just thought I'd casually remind them from two bunks away that I’m blind, not deaf,” he began to laugh. “You could just _feel_ the awkwardness!” Brad couldn’t help but join in the laughter, imagining the two of them stammering for a response. He snuck a glance at Alex, a proud feeling welling up inside him. He might not look like it at first, but Alex could more than handle himself and Brad always loved the look of surprise on a person’s face when Alex sassed them for the first time. Still, he made a note to “accidentally” trip those douchewads at the next opportunity.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the coolness lapping around their ankles, before a playful smirk came across Alex’s face.

“Hey Brad, the pool; is it deep?”

“Uh,” Brad peered over the edge of the rock. “Yeah, fairly deep.”

“Good.”

Before Brad could react, Alex had planted a hand firmly on his back and pushed with surprising strength, driving him off of their makeshift seat and plunging him into the depths beneath. He surfaced seconds later, spluttering water, to see Alex honest-to-God giggling incessantly a few feet above him.

“Oh man, I so wish I could see your face right now!” He laughed as Brad shook droplets from his hair, wiping the excess from his face and eyes. “Enjoying your swim?”

Brad rolled his eyes before narrowing them, mirroring Alex’s smirk from moments ago. “Yeah, the water’s great. You should come IN!”

He punctuated the last word by grabbing Alex’s wrist and yanking him from his perch. He knew Alex was a strong swimmer but his protective instinct kicked in as he went under and Brad made sure to keep a hand on him until he’d resurfaced. Alex broke the water, still grinning.

“You’re an ass.”

“I’m an ass?! We were having a perfectly lovely time before you shoved me in,” Brad protested flippantly, matching the beam on his friend’s face.

“We were, I’m sorry,” Alex responded, though his face said he wasn’t really sorry at all. He pushed away from Brad, backpedalling with his face tilted up to the sun. “It’s crazy hot.”

Brad hummed in agreement. “Yeah, you should probably cool off,” he said, sending a mini tidal wave over Alex who immediately responded with a tsunami of his own, and then it was all-out war. Eventually, Brad could barely breathe through the combination of water and laughter.

“Ok, truce, truce!” He declared, moving towards Alex to stay his arms.

“Guess that means I win,” Alex grinned.

“It’s a truce, nobody wins,” Brad pointed out.

“Agree to disagree,” was the response and Brad was willing to acquiesce. They bobbed silently for a moment, and Brad became increasingly aware of all the points at which their bodies were touching. One of his hands was on Alex’s waist (when did that happen?), their legs brushed now and again as they treaded the water and Alex’s right hand was burning into the skin of Brad’s forearm, sending shivers down his spine despite the sun beating down on them. He swallowed hard against the feeling, trying to ignore the growing realisation of its cause.

It’s not like he’d never thought about it before, more so since he and Julie had broken up before the summer. Alex was an attractive guy, both inside and out, and they spent a lot of time together. He was only (a teenaged, male) human after all, he figured it was only natural his mind drifted occasionally. He just hadn’t realised it had gone this far. Now he recognised it though, he began to panic, thinking back over his most recent interactions with Alex, wondering whether he had been too obvious. He knew Alex wasn’t homophobic in the least (he was one of the only guys in the year to have remained close to Mitchell when he came out during the last semester); Brad just didn’t want anything marring their friendship and possibly causing an irreparable shift.

“Brad? You ok? You’re being unnervingly quiet.” Alex’s voice pulled Brad out of his thoughts and he noticed the concerned frown on the other’s face. He also noticed that that face was a lot closer than it had been before. Alex must have drifted nearer as Brad’s silence stretched on. _His eyes are incredible_ and OK, how had he not realised his feelings before? They were painfully obvious to him now. Alex was still frowning, awaiting his reply. Brad shook his head to clear it.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, tightening his grip on Alex’s waist, reassuringly. “I was just thinking.” Alex’s hand was still on his forearm, his thumb tracing circles over the muscle there and Brad found himself distracted once again.

“About what?” He dimly heard Alex ask.

 _You_ , his mind supplied. Almost immediately, he heard Alex chuckle softly and dread hit him like a freight train.

“I said that out loud, didn’t I?” He screwed his eyes together, glad for the first time since they met, that Alex couldn’t see the violent blush enflaming his cheeks. Not that his friend seemed particularly phased by the revelation.

“Mm-hm,” Alex nodded, smiling widely and causing Brad to blush even harder if possible.

“Fuck, I didn’t mean- I just… Shit, sorry,” he stammered and stumbled over his words, not knowing how to even begin explaining himself.

“Brad,” Alex began, soothingly. “Relax.” He moved himself closer still, sliding his hand from Brad’s forearm, up over his bicep, shoulder, neck and coming to rest on his jaw. Leaving Brad absolutely no time to prepare, Alex closed the space between them, using his hand to guide him to his mark.

Brad’s mind shuttered for a split-second, not comprehending the sudden change of events. Within the last half hour, Brad had realised his feelings for his best friend, accidentally told said best friend about said feelings and now said best friend was kissing him. His head reeled from it all. Luckily for Brad, instinct had taken over and he responded fervently to the press of lips on his. He slipped his hand from Alex’s waist around to his back to hold him tighter and with the other, he threaded his fingers through Alex’s wet hair, angling the other’s head and deepening the kiss. Alex pressed himself further still against Brad’s chest, and he instantly regretted not removing their shirts, and possibly their pants, along with their shoes.

Making out whilst treading water was an almost impossible task it seemed though, as he found himself alternating between kicking and kissing and eventually had to break away, gasping in air as though he’d been drowning. He leaned his head against Alex’s for a beat before pulling back to take in the face in front of him. Alex looked more than a little dazed and Brad sympathised. He stroked his thumb across the spot behind Alex’s ear and smiled when Alex leaned into his touch.

“So… that was different,” he expressed, lightly.

“Good different or bad different?” Alex asked and Brad was surprised to see the insecurity written across his face. For somebody who had an incredible obstacle to overcome, Alex always exuded a quiet confidence. But in this moment, he was just another teenager, hoping for acceptance and fearing rejection, and Brad wanted nothing more than to allay those fears.

“Good,” he murmured, leaning back in to emphasise it with a kiss. “Definitely good.” Instantly, Alex’s smile returned.

“Good,” he parroted back, and Brad wanted to kiss that ridiculous smile off of his face. But he felt his legs tiring and noticed the tinge of pink on Alex’s cheeks and arms.

“We should probably get out before my legs give up and you become a lobster though,” he suggested and Alex acquiesced, placing a hand on Brad’s shoulder and following him to the edge of the pool to retrieve their shoes. As they sat putting them on, that small, sweet smile was still there and Brad couldn’t help leaning over to kiss it. The smile grew wider so Brad kissed it again. Alex was beaming now and OK, Brad really had to look away or they were going to be here forever, not that that was such a terrible idea. As he stood, he took Alex’s outstretched hand to pull him with him. As they began to pick their way back through the trees, Alex’s hand slipped from Brad’s shoulder down to his hand, intertwining their fingers. He glanced up.

“Is this OK?”

Brad smirked. “Alex, I’ve just had your tongue in my mouth, I think a little hand-holding is fine.”

Alex rolled his eyes and knocked his shoulder against Brad’s but he was still smiling and Brad was struck once again by how embarrassingly obvious his feelings for Alex were. No wonder Jess and Daisy/Maisie hadn’t believed him last week, he’s sure now that everybody could see it. As if reading his mind, Alex let out a small chuckle.

“Man, I am in for a lot of told-you-so’s from Julie. She’s been on at me for weeks about how we should just admit it already, and how there was nothing stopping us now you guys were broken up.”

Brad knew he should probably feel awkward that his ex-girlfriend was apparently aware of his feelings for their shared best friend whilst they were still together but right now, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to care. He was happy, and if the contented look on his face and the carefree way he swung their joined arms was anything to go by, Alex was happy. That was enough.


End file.
